Sensex rallies 267 pts, highest close in nearly 2 weeks
The BSE Sensex on Wednesday rose by nearly 267 points to hit a near two week high of 35,645.40 on bouts of buying towards the fag-end of the session, mainly in bank and auto shares, after the Centre hiked MSP for most kharif crops.
The benchmark index moved in a narrow range for most part of the day due to weak global cues amid concerns related to trade tariff spat and macro-economic conditions but the late buying in some key sector stocks helped the Sensex come out of range-bound trading.
Consistent buying by domestic institutional investors and encouraging services PMI data for June also helped in lifting trading sentiment.
In a major fillip to the farm sector, the government on Wednesday approved a steep hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of 14 kharif crops, which will cost the exchequer more than ₹15,000 crore.
The BSE 30-share Sensex started on a positive note at 35,385.52 and advanced to the day’s high of 35,667.31 before ending at 35,645.40—a near two-week high—up 266.80 points, or 0.75%. The 30-share BSE gauge closed at 35,689.60 on June 22, 2018. The Sensex on Wednesday touched the day’s low of 35,309.67. It had gained 114.19 points in the previous session. The NSE Nifty, after hitting a high of 10,777.15, closed at 10,769.90, up 70 points, or 0.65%. It touched a low of 10,677.75 intraday.
Meanwhile, on a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹278.84 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth ₹1,043.31 crore yesterday, provisional data showed. European markets fell at the start of trade, tracking weak global cues.
MUMBAI: